End of the Line No.12 - High Barnet 

This is thread for people that are able to explain to me why the Tube station isn't called "Chipping Barnet" ... ;-)

In 1991, a very excited girl from Lincolnshire celebrating her 14th birthday walked on to the platform of High Barnet Underground Station with her 2 brothers and parents. She was going into central London for the first time to see the sights such as the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace. She was about to ride on the London Underground for the very first time. Her parents thought she was more excited by the novelty concept of trains running under ground than she was seeing the sights. At that point, she wasn't really a fan of the Tube. There were no railways running under ground where she was. Her dad parked the car securely in Barnet, and the Tube would take the family the rest of the way to their hotel in Paddington. Her excitement turned into confusion when what greeted her eyes at High Barnet station was sunlight rather than a tunnel. Lesson 1 learned. Not all of the Underground is under ground. Scarcely able to believe she was actually in a Tube train as it left High Barnet, the girl's impatience for an underground tunnel grew as the journey progressed, until the moment arrived at East Finchley with a WHUMPH she remembers even now. She turned and beamed at her dad, mesmerised not only by travelling in the darkness of the tunnel, but by the new sounds and smells of the experience. The other passengers must have been baffled. Regardless of their opinions, the girl was rapidly becoming a fan of the Underground, her impressed mind blown to smithereens. Everything made her gasp. The busy nature of the stations, the wind gusts, the long escalators which disoriented her slightly all captivated her brain. 33 years on from that first brain chemistry-altering experience, she remains as addicted to the Tube as ever. That girl was me. High Barnet. The first Tube station I ever used. A special place in my life's history.

VARIATIONS OF BARNET: 1. Borough of Barnet. One of the 32 Boroughs of London. Encompasses Barnet and non-Barnet areas, such a Finchley. But Barnet is the main component of Barnet. 2. Chipping Barnet. Parliamentary constituency. Used to be a civil Parish in Hertfordshire (says Wiki). 3. High Barnet. Tube station. Called so because it is on top of a hill. Yes, from where Geoff was he should have seen the Shard (7th amazing thing about Barnet?) 4. New Barnet. Train station. Created 'new' developments when the station opened. There is no old Barnet. 5. East Barnet. It is a bit to the East. Often called 'East Barnet Village', because of the village feel. There is no West, North or South Barnet (contrary to Google maps!) 6. Friern Barnet. Exists by Finchley. No idea when its called 'Friern', it is the rogue Barnet. 7. Barnet Gate. Pub where there used to be a gate, on the way to Borehamwood. 8. Battle of Barnet. Self-Explanatory.

who wouldve thought an 18 yr old girl whos a kpop girl group stan from the south east would enjoy this channel sm. 😭😭 i love london and am going for uni there in September and my goal whilst there is to visit every tube station , i get the train to college and know literally everything about southern rail and the stations on the ljne i get lmfao

The Bear sculpture relates to the 1920’s and 30’s when the Grizzly Bears that were resident at London Zoo were transported to High/Chipping Barnet to be exercised in Whale Bone Park. The zoo keepers would walk the bears to a railway goods yard just north of Primrose Hill. Here the animals would be loaded into the Zoo’s own specialist wagons. These were effectively reinforced cattle wagons, and were painted in a special livery to represent the Zoo. Through a rather convoluted shunting manoeuvre the train eventually made its way to ‘Barnet where the reverse would happen. A small bay platform was located where the bear sculpture now stands, and from here the keepers lead the bears to the park. The beasts would take up residency for a week long stay in a secure enclosure within the park, this afforded the bears a more natural environment compared to their Regents Park home, and it also provided a retreat from the smog of Ol’ London Town.

So technically chipping barnet is up where the high street is, high barnet is between the beginning of the high street and down the along the A1000, there’s a tesco on the A1000, and east barnet is the road to the left of the tesco all the way to a roundabout turning onto east barnet road and along that road, new barnet is the A1000 continued to the right of the tesco and all the way to whetstone-ish area, OH and friern barnet is where the friern barnet business park and a406 is and the road leading up to there My boyfriend always says he lives in barnet, even though he lives in “new barnet”. We use east barnet for east barnet, barnet for new barnet/high barnet/chipping barnet, new barnet for his local area where his house is if someone asks specifically which part, and friern barnet when we need to go to the halfords or pets at home in that business park

I was really waiting for Geoff to ask us to chip in with our opinions 😂

After having a very difficult day, nothing is better than watching a brand new video of Geoff ❤️

I grew up in New Barnet and I just realised I never ever visited the High Barnet tube station. I always travelled from Totteridge, and as the station itself is set back (and down in the cutting) from the main road I passed it by many times going up or down Barnet Hill, without ever seeing it.

Been incredibly homesick since i moved away from barnet for university down in the south. this really cured me and got me so excited to go back home. if you live in High Barnet, you call it Barnet, but if you live in say, Finchley (which is in the borough of Barnet), you specify Finchley, and if you live in East Barnet, you say East Barnet. I hear not a lot of people call the area that is Chipping Barnet, Chipping Barnet- it's mainly the older folks who live there and just referred to on public buildings like the library.

Love your videos Geoff and I always come back to your channel for a pick-me-up. I have loved railways since a child my grandfather worked for railways (pre-privatisation he still remembers the days of British rail) and I spent a lot of my childhood on trains. Your channel helps keep my love for trains alive. Also added some stuff to my bucket list. Please never stop!

In the many years of growing up and living in an around Barnet, I've never heard anyone call/refer to it at 'Chipping Barnet' just the odd sign here or there. The only exception was the library (just behind the spires). Everyone I know has always called that area as High Barnet. The other known places called by Barnet areas are East Barnet, New Barnet and Friern Barnet.

"Chipping" is the medieval word for "market". It's related to "Cheapside" (market street), "chapman" (a market trader), "Copenhagen" (market/traders' port) and of course "shop".

The northbound bus stop on Barnet Hill is so difficult to get to. They need to put an extra stop opposite the southern access ramp, but TfL only make buses in Barnet worse (384, 84).

Woke up here many times before after falling asleep on the train when drunk

The chequerboard pattern on the church tower echoes that on the Holbein Gate in Whitehall - one of the great lost treasures of London

I LOVE this series Geoff! I live just off High Barnet and I'm so happy to see that you've finally done this area! ♥♥

My first trip when I was filming the Underground was on the Northern Line! And because of videos like yours I want to go back now so badly. But I'm Dutch...

Would you ever do a video about the station puzzles? They’ve been in so many videos but I’d love to learn more a bit about them and maybe also some background from TFL on them. 🙌

a similar thing applies to ongar. the tube station was known as ongar but i have seen it on maps and by family members who lived there call it chipping ongar

The station was designed to be extended and the end of the platforms was plugged and backfilled with a new retaining wall added to cover the original brickwork and replace the original semipermanent retaining wall marking where a tunnel, arched bridge or bricked walled cut would have started.

These videos relax me somehow . Thanks Geoff

Even more confusingly, if you want to add to all the Barnet confusion, Barnet FC themselves do not play in Barnet; while the club are based in Edgware (which mostly falls within the borough of Barnet), their ground is just south of Canons Park, in the portion of Edgware that falls in the borough of Harrow

Yet another great End of the Line Video Geoff. One I’ve yet to do .. was outside New Barnet Station on 19/6/22 during a vintage bus Running Day on an RT on 306 & then a DMS on 107 . Didn’t know of the Barnet FC display at the museum .. I was present for their last match at Underhill as my team Wycombe Wanderers were their last opponents on their famous sloping pitch

Having lived previously in Barnet, I always referred to it as simply “Barnet”. Chipping Barnet was an older name referring to the fact that it had a market. New Barnet got its name from the station built there as it could not at the time manage the incline to Barnet itself. East Barnet was originally a village situated outside of Barnet. The London Borough of Barnet came into being in 1965 embracing former Metropolitan boroughs including Hendon and Finchley as well as East Barnet RDC and Barnet RDC. And your “Barnet” - rhyming slang, Barnet Fair means hair. Barnet Fair itself goes back to the fifteenth century or maybe even earlier. The Battle of Barnet was fought just north of the town in 1471 as part of the War of the Roses.

Geoff I just wanted to say thank you for adding captions to the video. As a non-native speaker it makes it much easier to watch. ❤

Great video once again Geoff, you never fail to impress. Your truly amazing and inspiring. You inspired my to get out there and explore the railways which I have been doing in my local country of kent (including least used - Kemsing!) keep up the great work 👍

Pleased as punch!!!! From one Jeff to another Geoff. I grew up in Barnet and my family ran the Mitre from 1988 - 1997. Spent the video wondering if the Mitre would feature. So So pleased it was No 1 on your list.

I believe that East Barnet was a proposed name for the Piccadilly line station that opened as Enfield West, later renamed to Oakwood

I'm from New Barnet, that's down the hill and left. Then there is East Barnet which is built up around the village around Oak Hill Park, High Barnet at the top of the hill at the Highest point, also known as Chipping Barnet (something to do with markets) and at the end of High Barnet going towards Potters Bar is Hadley/Monken Hadley. And it's all within the London Borough of Barnet.

Everytime I get a notification saying you have uploaded geoff I get excited to watch and I'm really loving end of the line series

Aussie here. Really enjoying this series. High Barnett seems such a quaint station. Also I liked the way u covered things to visit in Barnet. Your work is inspirational. Also I was watching with my wife and she noted that you seemed to be in a happy place. Looking forward to the next episode in this series.

Really enjoying this 'End of the Line' series. When you have done them all will you do a 'Middle of the Line' series?

The Chipping prefix to Barnet came about because there used to be a market in the area behind the Spires next to the present day bus station, it's now a pale imitation and open I believe only on Wednesdays and Saturdays..

I would say at 4:39, the carved bear should be called "Barnet Bear"! And Geoff, the station was originally designed by the GNR, for a future northwards extension, but of course this never happened.

The humour in this video is good, this is exactly the kind of content I like from Geoff. Makes me want to go out to the tube network myself and explore.

I'm traveling to London in second half of February and I think you just convinced me to start ride into the London from Barnett station

I live in East Barnet. There is also New Barnet which is just down the road from High Barnet. I believe Barnet Church is the highest point in London.

Oak cafe in whetstone is amazing, and so is Nkora in the spires up in chipping Barnet!

Barnie the bear? Could be!!! Thanks for another gem, Geoff.

My wife and I went to secondary school, met and grew up in Barnet. There are a lot of 'Barnets'. I think most people living there would consider the broader Barnet pretty much anything in the borough. There is Barnet Village, East Barnet, New Barnet, High Barnet, Friern Barnet, and Chipping Barnet as you said in the video. They're not used as addresses but more where the centre of shops are. If you said you were going to New Barnet then you would mean near the big Sainsbury's beside the station with the same name. Thanks for the Whalebone Park tip that is one I did not know. The one thing I would say you should check out from High Barnet (although it's a bit of a journey) is Lewis of London which is a dairy that does incredible ice-cream. One of my fondest memories of Barnet is going to the Odeon (now Everyman) cinema and everyone laughing really hard at an advert for hair gel that was set in a fictional town of Bad Barnet.

This video is hysterical ! Barnett is now on my list of places to visit when I get back to London .. who doesn't love an out of the Center of the City adventure! Thanks from NYC !

This time last year if you'd said to me you will become an avid follower of some bloke rocking up at tube station terminii and pointing out stuff I'd have laughed. Then I found Geoff's channel, and I'm hooked! I have to say, it's 90% the guy and 10% the material. Im pretty sure Geoff could do a series on public toilets and it would be interesting! Excellent channel.

Yes, my local branch line at last. Hopefully Stanmore on episode 13

When I went to London two months ago, it was your videos that really helped me on the tube.

This video was indeed well time spent. Excellent as ever!

This brings back memories, like 4 years nearly since being here, looks the same but up that hill on a winter sunset near the road and you can even just about see the skyline of London, Also down that road is some nice small shops and a incredible sushi place you see the sushi being made in front of you too

I do actually occasionally drive the 307 bus route. According to the Ibus system it regards the area around High Barnet Station as "Barnet Hill".

Great video, Geoff love a town with lots of history. Hope the chip were lovely. Great shots of the trains too.

loving the End Of The Line series, Geoff.

Due to the huge gap between Totteridge & Whetstone and High Barnet, I would permanently close it and add two extra stations to the Northern line. I would do this by creating brand new tracks beyond Totteridge & Whetstone to Oakleigh Park, New Barnet and then High Barnet. My new tracks will be so much better than the original. Oakleigh Park and New Barnet will now be on the tube map.

Geoff, love this series and love your passion for London Transport and trains generally. Thanks for great content!

I've got a N gauge model of High Barnet station. It was scratch built a few decades ago. Although its got the tube type logos on it, my stock is 1980s ECML.

Lived right next to the Spires for a few years. It's a funny shopping centre because the shops in it are quite bland, the high street itself had way more variety. Honourable mention to Hopscotch, the sweet shop on the corner by the church on the road leading down to the mitre. Shout out to the owners alice and michael, who I would buy from and they would walk around to my gate to deliver bags of sweets and give me someone to talk to during the height of the pandemic. Miss you!

4:47 as a person who is from high barnet and uses that station, I can relate to that

As a Midlander I always drive to that station and use it to get to London for my travels etc. Great video as always :)

Three Kings spent the night in Barnet, just before the deciding Battle of Barnet which was fought in and around Hadley Green just a little north of High Barnet. A monument commemorates this. Great videos Geoff.

I live in East Barnet Village. High Barnet Station is on Barnet Hill, which leads up to actual High Barnet (which is also called Chipping Barnet), then of course there's New Barnet (between High Barnet and East Barnet), and Friern Barnet (south of East Barnet), and the London Borough of Barnet (which is all the above plus a bit of Hadley Wood, half of Cockfosters, half of Southgate, all of Finchley, HGS, Golders, Hendon, Edgware, Mill Hill, Brent Cross, half of Cricklewood... and Barnet Gate). Easy peasy.

IIRC there is a mark on the side of the church that appears in this video, at or slightly above eye level (?), which is at the same elevation from sea level as the top of the cross on St Paul's Cathedral. London is quite hilly.

My biggest question was answered here… how is Geoff warm in just a jumper and thin fleece? Now we know!

When I did this station, my girlfriend and I went up the ECML to New Barnet (not all stations though, still got quite a few GN stops to do), then had chinese before getting the bus and doing the Northern Line from High Barnet back down to Zone 1 including Mill Hill East.

Regularly go to Barnet as I have family there. Chipping Barnet really just refers to the bit up the hill and the surrounding area. East Barnet is an almost entirely separate village (?) (That's how it's referred to on the bus stops), the other side of New Barnet. The basic answer is they used High Barnet as a collective for all the Barnet's (and possibly due to the fact it's on a hill, which makes it higher than the others?). No one ever really calls it Chipping Barnet anyway.

Things to do in Barnet, the church tower is open every so often in summer. Which is nice. Incidentally, the church is the cause of the road narrowing there, and was a problem even in the 12th century. Oddly, it may look a Victorian barn, but one of the side aisles is mediaeval. I may live in Barnet. Oddly enough, my parish church is Monken Hadley, which isn't in Barnet

Good to see Barnet FC getting a shout. You used to be able to see Underhill on the approach over the bridge into High Barnet, but it is now sadly replaced by a school. Instead you can now get a view of Barnet FC near the end of the Jubilee line between Queensbury and Canons Park.

I grew up in Balham (near southern end of the Northern Line) and my grand-parents lived in - yes - Barnet. So I have many memories of trips covering (almost) the full lenght of the line to visit them. But I preferred it when we changed at Kings Cross and took the BR DMU to New Barnet (front seats in the DMU of course!).

Really enjoyed this! I would say most people refer to high barnet as Barnet. With all the other areas in the borough referred to as their town names. New Barnet is New Barnet and East Barnet is always east barnet, but if someone said they were going to barnet they would be referring to High Barnet. Sometimes its Barnét haha

OOh. I "did" High Barnet on Tuesday. Challenging walk to the bus stop to get to Cockfosters, especially if you turn right, not left, when leaving the station.

Recently discovered your channel and immediately subscribed! I have had a passion for trains ever since I was young (albeit not a deep one but still a passion nonetheless), your videos are informative, exciting and just plain brilliant to watch! I am excited for the future of your channel, keep on going!

I always enjoy a trip to High Barnet. What would be really fun is if they could build an inclinator at the very end of the line where the photopaper's bench is to a new street level entrance.

Re the bear: I found a picture, on Flicker, with the following comment: "Grrr. High Barnet tube station. Carved by local artist Drew Edwards from naturally fallen oak. This carving is in memory of Fred, a real bear born in a cage in 1978 and died in a cage in 1981. It's also for sale, with 10% going to a LU charity."

The spires is great- botannika and nkora are amazing places, they have great coffee

I was part of the team that put the fence up by the carpark, long time ago Nice to see its still there Great vid again 👌 👏 👍

High Barnet is up the hill. New Barnet is down the hill and east, and East Barnet is a little bit further on from there round Oak Hill Park. Friern Barnet is a total different place east of north finchley. The London Borough of Barnet is just the council. People in hendon, edgware, Golders green say they are from those places.

Chipping Chepping etc. the old English for Market as in Chipping Norton, Chipping Camden (out in the sticks) and where I live in High Wycombe, in a deep valley, we have Chepping Wycombe

I had to go to the hospital up there last year and on the way back to the station called in at The Mitre. It had an amazing range of real ales, the most I've ever seen in a pub which wasn't a Wetherspoons, and something you missed - the apparently real suit of armour down as I recall, one of the corridors or was it a small room (I forget)? Excellent place.

The Bear and Ragged Staff was the emblem of the Earl of Warwick who was killed at the battle of Barnet in 1471.

OK I joined a firm in an office in East Barnet. They moved to New Barnet and via a move to New Southgate we now work just off the High Street as Chipping/High Barnet becomes Hadleigh.

Well worth walking on a bit further past The Spires to Hadley Green. The area is attractive and historically very important, as the location of the Battle of Barnet (Wars of the Roses)

I think ‘Chipping’ means there’s some sort of market there or used to be. Eg. Chipping Sodbury/Norton etc.

Until a few years ago High Barnet was the nearest station to Barnet Football Club, one of my favourite away trips! The club now play in the Borough of Harrow and the new ground is adjacent to the Jubilee Line between Queensbury and Canons Park.

Thanks, Geoff. Super tour of High Barnet.

All those variants and you left out, for our Dunedin NZ viewers Arthur Barnets--The quality department store in George St...with the famous neon light jockey riding the clock. Regardless of such carelessness...always good to see you ;-0

I love these series of end of the line, I really look forward to them :)

As far as I understand Chipping Barnet, High Barnet, East Barnet, Friern Barnet, etc. are different areas within Barnet. There are many Barnets

Hi Geoff. Time you came north again and visit Merseyrail in Liverpool and have a look at our new class 777 trains and new station at Maghull on the Northern line

Fantastic Geoff! Thank you for including some interesting things to see and do as well. 😊

The land behind the Spires entrance was an old Militia barracks The Chapel which predated the church was originally subordinate to the church in East Barnet, and both come under the Diocese of St Albans as they were in Hertfordshire, whist Hadley to the north comes under the diocese of London as it was in Middlesex, the old border being very odd..

Barnet was also interesting for being a part of Hertfordshire almost surrounded by Middlesex.

I grew up in Ryde, a very old suburb of Sydney, in a neighbourhood called Top Ryde. Whenever I hear 'High Barnett' on the London Underground, I wondered if it was 'high' in the same way my neighbourhood was 'top'. It was the highest point for a long way in any direction, FWIW.

The Northern Line can be extended from High Barnet to Potters Bar, Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City.

We officially live in the London Borough of Barnet. That said High Barnet is also known as chipping Barnet. The London Borough of Barnet consists mainly of Edgware, Hendon, Mill Hill, Finchley, Colindale and Totteridge area.

Thank you. I have been waiting for you to show a pub at the places you visit. I am fan of your pubs as I have been to England a lot. I really like your blog. The underground and pubs are my thing. The New Zealander fan.

That wood carving is the famous 'High Bear-net'

I like this Geoff! My parents use the word 'Barnet' as a slang replacement for "hair". True story.

Weird coincidence, after my trip on Tuesday, I ended up at the Ye Olde Mitre, but the one in Hatton Garden, not Barnet. I *think* I saw Martin from least used stations vids (Swale?)

I used to live in Barnet and the station is called high barnet. The high street is the oldest part of Barnet and the other parts of Barnet were added to in the later years.

I've go 4 times in London, but i didn't know some station: Marylebone, Fenchurch Street or other station that terminate in London. I like this city because it's so much.... the mess with all the lines(sorry i use a LITTLE bit translate)

Absolutely loved this one Geoff. Lots of laughs and excellent information. Never knew Barnet was so nice!

There is a great walking tour of Barnet. We did the ghost tour when we were living in Monkton Hadley. It covered quite a bit about the battle of Barnet on Hadley Green and the "pirate" gravestone.

What a legend this guy is